Fitzgerald AJ et al. (2005) Reparative properties of a commercial fish protein hydrolysate preparation. Gut 54: 775–781

Seacure® (Proper Nutrition, Inc., Pennsylvania, PA)—a dried fish-protein concentrate derived from Pacific whiting or hake—is marketed as a “...predigested source of bioactive peptides and biogenic amines, along with essential minerals and omega-3 fatty acids”, which, say the manufacturers, help to support intestinal health and healing. In common with numerous other health-food supplements, however, the product lacks rigorous scientific evidence of its efficacy. Professor Ray Playford and co-workers from Imperial College, London, have recently studied the biological activity of Seacure® using experimental models of epithelial injury and repair.

When added to rat and human intestinal cell cultures at a concentration of 1 mg/ml, the supplement was associated with an approximately threefold increase in cell proliferation. Cell migration was similarly increased in wounded monolayers. Having established that the bioactivity of Seacure® was not affected by the acidic conditions found in the stomach, the researchers found that the supplement appeared to reduce the degree of injury by 59% in an indomethacin-induced rat model of gastric injury. Subsequent analysis showed that most of the biologic activity of Seacure® was soluble in ethanol, and that glutamine and fatty acids were key active constituents.

The authors conclude that Seacure® showed biological activity and warrants further study.